Critic's 10 Latest

After years of spending every day as a video game villain, Ralph leaves his 8-bit home and ventures out in to the arcade to prove that he can be a hero.

IS IT A GOOD MOVIE?

I can't believe nobody thought of this before. WRECK IT RALPH is first and foremost a brilliant idea, like the ROGER RABBIT of the video game world. And Disney (without Pixar!) did a great job making the most out of the high-concept and infusing it with a feel-good story that works for both kids and grown-up kids.

If you're a fan of video games, from old-school NES to the latest HD consoles, you'll love every moment of WRECK-IT RALPH. Director Rich Moore (the man behind some classic Simpsons and Futurama episodes) achieves an almost Pixar-level of quality, from story execution to cleverness. (The Bad-Anon villain support group scene is one of the best and most rewatchable moments of 2012.) Seeing Ralph go from game to game and interact with various beloved characters, from Q*bert to Bowser to Dr. Egghead, is pure joy and there's plenty of other easter eggs for the even the biggest gaming nerd. In fact, it's so cunning with the different worlds that a selfish part of me was sad when it finally settled down in to the Sugar Rush game. While the first half of the film is undoubtedly more fun, when Ralph meets Vanellope and begins to connect with another character the real story begins to take shape. And there's more than one part that will tug at your heartstrings.

John C. Reilly is completely perfect as the title character. He brings so much to Ralph and his voice alone sells both his brutish behavior and sympathetic plight. I usually can only take so much Sarah Silverman, but her girly voice and demeanor actually work well as a foil for Ralph. (And I can't stress how glad I am that they didn't pursue a romantic storyline between the two of them.) 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer is essentially playing another version of Kenneth, but his chemistry with Jane Lynch's rough and tumble Hero's Duty commander is one of the secret weapons of the film.

THE EXTRAS

This Ultimate Collector's Edition contains a 3D Blu-Ray, normal Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Copy, as well as these special features:

Paperman (6:35): Ironically, the best thing on this disc has nothing to do with WRECK IT RALPH. This Academy Award-winning animated short is pure magic and gorgeously animated. Definitely check it out if you haven't already.

Bit by Bit: Creating the Worlds of WRECK-IT RALPH (16:40): Director Moore and the rest of the creative team discuss the making of the film, from developing the story in all its different incarnations to executing the animated world.

Alternate/Deleted Scenes (14:28): These four rough animatics give a taste of some of the unused storylines and ways the film changed quite a bit. Oddly, these scenes feature commentary from the crew, though there's no actual commentary on this disc.

Video Game Commercials (2:40): Four stylized ads for the various video games featured in the film.

Disney Intermission: You can turn this feature on in the menu. When you pause the movie, Chris Hardwick of Nerdist and Talking Dead fame appears on-screen to explain some of the video game references found in the film. A cool idea, but I find Hardwick kind of annoying.

Trailers and Sneak Peeks at other Disney properties.

FINAL DIAGNOSIS

I'm pretty loyal to Pixar when it comes to computer animated films, but WRECK IT RALPH is a lot of fun, especially for video game fans, and proof that Disney is on the right track.

Extra Tidbit: Unlike most animated films, Reilly and his co-stars recorded the vocal sessions together in the same room, which led to a lot of improvising.